Getting Used To Things One At A Time
by SavingSanityOrLosingIt
Summary: AU. When Nami's family can't afford to live with Arlong's exspensive rent, they're forced to move to the Urban City, Water Seven. When Nami gets into a little incident, she gets saved and decides to work for her savior. NamixPaulie
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: While me and my friend were discussing One Piece, we started talking about Paulie. And then this great story idea popped into my head. So I hope you read and enjoy. This is a PaulieXNami fic. I'm probably gonna make it long, but I'm not sure. Oh and this is a AU story. Anyways, enjoy the story ;D.**

Nami sighed as she walked down a lonely street of Water Seven. She really hated this town. It was too urban for her. She remembered the dissapointment she felt when Bellemere broke the news to her that they were moving.

_"Mommy! We're home!" A twelve-year-old Nojiko called as they walked into the front door of their apartment. There apartment was pretty small, but at least in a nice place. Beautiful trees could be seen through the windows. _

_"Mom!" A ten-year-old Nami called as she followed behind her purple haired sister. "I got a nice comment on my drawings from Mr. Genzo!" She chimed, happily. Nami still followed their sister as they found their mom sitting at the dinner table._

_"Welcome home girls, and that's wonderful, Nami." Bellemere smiled at them. But her eyes held some sort of sadness, which Nojiko and Nami quickly recognized._

_"Mom, what's wrong?" Nojiko asked concerned, sitting down next to her adoptive mother. Nami stood frowning at her mom, with the same concern Nojiko has, displayed in her eyes._

_"Girls," Bellemere said as she frowned and looked at both of them. "My shop hasn't been doing too well. We can't afford rent. I've asked Arlong to let us have alittle extra time, but he refused. This is the cheapest place in Cocoyashi. But I've found a cheaper place in a town that's not too far from here." Bellemere said and looked at the girls, who both looked shocked._

_"But mom! We've lived here forever! We can't just move!" Nokjiko argued and stood up, she was biting her lip._

_"Mommy! What about Genzo-san? He can most surely help us pay our rent!" Nami shouted with her eyes wide._

_"Now, now, Nami.. Genzo-san has his own rent to worry about. We shouldn't trouble him." Bellemere replied calmly._

_"Mom!" Nami started tearing up, she didn't want to leave the town she's grown to love so much!_

_"We will be moving to a busy town called Water Seven. Arlong said we have to be out of her by dusk tomorrow. I've already spoken to Genzo-san about it while you guys were at school. He's going to help us move out." Bellemere explained to them, "Now go get your stuff packed, you should have time to say goodbye to your friends before we leave in the morning."_

Nami sighed at the memory. She missed Cocoyashi dearly. She still was more fond of it even though they have been living in Water Seven for eight years. Water Seven was just tall buildings everywhere. There were many bridges because of the many rivers that ran through it. It was very busy, because it had a very large, and famous harbor. The harbor was home to many famous shipwrights. There were many different companys in the business, but she heard that the Franky & Family co. was rivals with Galley-La, and has been for quite some time. Nami, however, could care less about shipwrights and harbors. She just wanted to go move back to Cocoyashi. She has seen very little plant life in this overly paved place. She missed the orange trees and the grass and the flowers that Cocoyashi had.

Nami had just recently graduated from Water Seven High. Even though the city was rather big, there was only Water Seven Elementary, Water Seven Jr. High, and Water Seven High. Even though Nami, Nojiko, and Bellemere had moved to the bad side of town, where houses were not as fancy and costed less, the Sea Train still came by and they were able to board it to get to school, when they still went to school. It was very handy for Sea Trains that transported around the town.

But now, Nami was walking through town by herself, looking for a job so she can raise enough money to go back to Cocoyashi village. Her mom, had found a job working for a man named Blueno, at a bar. Her mom actually made a modest sum working there, but of course Nami wondered if Blueno had taken a liking for Bellemere. Nojiko, who graduated two years before Nami, found a job at the Franky & Family Co. as a secretary.

Nami was hopeless. She had tried to find somewhere close to her house (She still refused to call it a home.), but was forced to venture out further into the worse end of town. She kept a knife hidden under her skirt, in case if anything happened, which the possibilities where high in the end of town she was in. Nami was too caught up in her memories of Cocoyashi, so she failed to notice that there were a few men following her the last couple of blocks. But she became alert of them when they had become within 15 feet of her.

Nami muttered nervously to herself and started walking faster. When she glanced over her shoulder she saw that they had also sped up their walking. Nami was almost panicking now, but made sure it didn't show. She turned on her heel to face them. "Is there a problem?" She asked, making sure her voice sounded cold.

She was able to take in their appearances this time. One guy with greasy black hair, and the other ones with greasy blonde hair. They all wore similar leather jackets and oil stained, ripped jeans. They didn't look clean at all.

The nasty black-haired one spoke, "Yes, miss." He said, he kept walking towards her. "I'd like to know if you'd want to come with us for awhile." He smirked, showing nasty yellowing teeth.

"I would not. I am very busy at the moment. Why don't you go ask some bimbo or something." Nami said. She tried her best to not look scared when they three grease-balls were 3 feet away from her.

One of the blondes stepped forward and grabbed Nami's wrist. "Come on, baby. Just for alittle while." He said and flashed a grin.

Nami almost puked; His breath REEKED of alcohol. She tried yanking her wrist out of his grasp but he clutched it harder, and it hurt. "Let go of me, you pigs!" She shouted.

The black haired one smirked again. "We got a real pretty one tonight, boys." He said while scanning Nami's body.

Nami reached for the knife with her free hand and pulled it out. She directed it at the three men, and the blond released her wrist. "I said, back off." Nami warned them with narrowed eyes.

The black haired man laughed, "Charlie." He said.

The other blonde, Charlie, reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Nami's head. "Drop the knife, sweetheart." He asked her.

**Yeah! My second story! I think this is way better than my first. Plus Nami is an easier character to write. Well tell me what you think~! ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: My eyes are starting to hurt because I didn't wear my reading glasses while typing the last chapter. *dies* x.x well I found them and I now present you the next chapter~! ChIbINeKoChWan: ikr? I read some like a year ago, and loved them. It made me sad how there's so little stories of them.**

Nami's eyes widened when she saw the gun pointed at her face. She shakily dropped the knife and winced when it made a loud clanking sound on the pavement.

"Good girl." The black haired man said. "Now Charles is going to put the gun away. But if you shout or run away you-"

"She'll what? Nma." A voice sounded from behind them. All three men's faces drained of color. They turned around to look at the person who had interupted them.

Nami could see the man, rather _men,_ who had caused her attackers to stop in their act. She saw a man in a red pinstriped jacket, black pants, and odd purple hair. He also was scratching something white in his breast pocket. Nami recognized him as Water Seven's mayor, he also ran the Galley-La Company. Their was a large man to his side, with brown hair tied into a ponytail, with a white beard. He remind Nami of a lumberjack. He also wasn't wearing a shirt. Then the third guy to the other side of the mayor, was a weird man with glasses, and black hair with a piece of it sticking up.

"Mr. Iceburg!" The black haired man shouted suprised. "W-well, you see t-this my girlfriend. Were j-just messing around!" he stammered nervously.

"Oh my. Is that true?" Iceburg asked curiously while peering at Nami.

Nami was frozen. She was taking in the turn of events. She then felt a sudden sense of relief wash through her. It took her a second to realize Iceburg had asked her something, and it took another moment to remember what he'd asked.

"Mr. Mayor. I have never met these men in my life." Nami said.

"ICEBURG-SAN THEY LIED TO YOU!" The lumberjack looking man shouted at the mayor. Nami jumped at his sudden loudness.

"Nma. What's your name, girl?" Iceburg asked Nami again. He kept scratching the white thing in his pocket.

Nami looked the mayor straight in the eye, "I'm Nami." She said.

"Hmm, you three men," Iceburg said, addressing the slimeballs. "Should leave. If I ever hear about you guys doing something like this again, you'll be thrown into jail. Now go." Iceburg said, and the three men hurriedly scurried off like weasels.

"Thank you Mr. Mayor." Nami said sincerely, she bent down and picked up the knife to put it back under her skirt.

"Nma. Why don't you come with us so we can make sure you make it home safe." Iceburg said, Nami agreed and walked over to him and his three men.

"This is Tilestone." Iceburg gestured towards the Lumberjack man.

Tilestone beamed at Nami, "HELLO!" He shouted.

Nami winced at the loudness, "Hi.." She said.

"This is Peeply Lulu." Iceburg said pointing at the man with the sticking up hair. The man looked at Nami and nodded his head. He pushed in the sticking up hair, but it stuck back up on the other side. Nami had to keep from laughing.

They turned a street corner and Iceburg spoke up again. "What are you doing in this part of town alone?" Iceburg asked her.

Nami looked at him, "I was looking for a job. But I couldn't find any." She said as they continued down the street. "What were you doing here?" She asked Iceburg, with curiousity in her eyes.

"I was seeing if another dock could be placed here. I guess that was lucky for you." Iceburg replied. "Nma, you said you were looking for a job?" Iceburg asked.

"Yes. But there's nothing by my house." Nami answered, she kicked a rock with her foot as she kept walking with them.

"What street do you live on?" Iceburg asked her, he kept walking down the road they were on.

"I live on Thatch Dr., it's south of here." Nami answered, secretly glancing at the hair sticking up on Lulu's head.

"That's still on the bad part of town.. Well, were you born in Water Seven?" Iceburg asked her.

"No. I was born in Cocoyashi Village. It was beautiful. In all honesty, Mr. Iceburg, I despise all the pavement and stuff here. I miss the beautiful plants." Nami said while looking at his face for any offense.

"I wouldn't blame you. If you lived by the harbor in the west, you'd like it better. The Sunset is very beautiful on the water." Iceburg said while turning onto another block when Nami pointed the direction to go.

"First of all, we couldn't afford a house there. And second of all, I thought most of the houses there were taken by harbor workers." Nami said and sighed, she missed seeing the sunset, she couldn't see it from the neighborhood she lived in.

"Oh my. Well, why don't you tell me about your family." Iceburg was curious about this girl.

"Well my sister works for Franky & Family Co., they offered her a very small apartment in that district. My mom works for Blueno's Bar, the Sea Train conviently has a stop near it for her. I'm still unemployed but I've been searching ever since I graduated." Nami answered truthfully.

"How'd you end up in Water Seven?" Lulu suddenly spoke up, suprising Nami, she forgot about Tilestone and Lulu, they'd been quiet.

Nami sighed and began telling them about her past. Wincing when Tilestone yelled out when she talked about Arlong being greedy and making them leave. When she was done they were all silent.

"My house is the one down there." Nami said, pointing at their old, weather-worn, small house on the corner of the street. "Thanks for walking me." Nami said and bowed.

"Nma.. Your welcome." Iceburg said. Then he scratched the white thing again in his breast pocket. It was then that Nami realized that he had a white mouse on him.

_What the hell? _Nami thought but didn't say anything. Lulu's hair was weirder than the mouse, she decided.

"Hmm. Well Nami. I sort've adopted to your cause. We do need alittle help around the harbor. Maybe you could fill in a position..." Iceburg said and looked at Nami's reaction.

Nami was shocked. _I don't know how to build a ship! _"Uhm.. Mr. Iceburg, I don't know how to build a ship.." Nami confessed, well actually, more like stated the obvious.

Nami jumped when Tilestone start laughing loudly. "HAHAHA! SILLY GIRL! HAHA!" Tilestone boomed.

"Nma, Tilestone. Shush." Iceburg shot him a warning glance. "Anyways, that's not what I meant Nami. I meant that we need alittle help like assistants, storage room workers, or even maids for the HQ." Iceburg told her.

Nami bit her lip and considered his offer.

"How about you come work for a week doing different positions and we will find out what your good at. If your good at something, your hired. But if your not, I'll still pay you for the week you worked, but you will not get a job." Iceburg proposed.

Nami thought about it for awhile. "But what about my house? I don't think I could be able to ride the Sea Train across the whole town and be at the docks on time." _Yet another job I can't have._

"Is that one house still unused?" Iceburg all of a sudden turned and asked Lulu. Lulu nodded his head. "Well Nami, there is a house we have, that is by Galley-La. I don't care if you show up late this week, but if you get the job, the house is yours. Oh and your starting tomorrow." Iceburg told her.

"Thank you, Mr. Iceburg. See you tomorrow" Nami said and bowed again. Iceburg just nodded his head while him and his workers turned around and started walking away.

Nami walked up to the front door of the house, put the key in, and unlocked the knob. _I cannot believe I just might've gotten a job and new house from almost getting kidnapped! _Then she burst through the door and slammed it shut. "Mom! I got a job!" She cried happily.

"Nami? That's great!" Bellemere called for the kitchen, she was probably making dinner.

"Well I got a job offer, I just have to do good there for a week and the job's mine." Nami said while walking into the kitchen. Her mom set some food on a plate and handed it to her.

"Oh. Where?" Bellemere asked curiously.

"Galley-La." Nami said proudly. She sat down and started eating.

"Oh really? Rivaling your sister. Well I gotta go to work, see you." Bellemere said as she made her way out of the kitchen.

"See ya!" Nami said between a bite of her sandwich. Then she stood up and walked into the bathroom. There was a small standup shower in there. She turned the water on and undressed. She washed herself in the shower and shut the water off. Then she made her way into her room and dressed. She had a big day tomorrow.

When morning came Nami stood up excitedly. She started work that day! She quickly got dressed in the most dressiest blouse and skirt she had. She wanted to look professional as a first impression. She saw the clock and released that the Sea Train came around this part of town in 5 minutes. _Crap.. _She thought as she ran out of the house and started running down the street. She couldn't miss that train! She ran for about 3 more blocks before she could see the train station in sight. She slowed her pace to a walk. She got to the station while the train was pulling in. She boarded it and sat on the farthest side away from everyone else. Then closed her eyes as she felt the train start moving.

3 stops later she heard the train's automated system say "We are now arriving at Water Seven Harbor Station. I hope you enjoyed your ride on the Puffing Tom." Nami got up almost too excitedly and strutted out of the subway.

She looked in amazement of the ships docked at the harbor, they were so big! They probably costed a fortune! Nami then realized she didn't know how to get to Dock 1.

"Excuse me, sir." Nami asked a man that was walking by. He stopped walking and looked at her. "Do you know how to get to Dock 1?" She asked him.

The man pointed to the north. "It's over there, big doors with a 1 on it. Can't miss it." He then turned back to his original direction and started walking away.

"Thanks sir!" Nami called as she excitedly started walking north. She knew what he meant by not missing it. There was HUGE doors with a HUGE 1 written on it. There were also seven more doors down further north and they had 2-7 written on them. She advanced towards Dock 1 and stopped in front of them. _What am I supposed to do? Knock on it? _Nami sighed and started pushing the door. It was really hard to push. She pushed with all her might, and it moved an inch. _Just a few more inches, then I'll be in!_ She motivated herself. She started pushing but jumped when a voice called out to her.

"Oi! Shameless woman! What do you think your doing!"

**Hee hee. I was originally planning to have Paulie come in the third chapter but... naw. He's too cool for that. Anyways, review!**


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